Old Hand, New Face
by CrazyClouds
Summary: Robin wasn't there on the fateful night that Starfire crash-landed in Jump City. Then again, that's probably because Robin's been dead for a few years...
1. Chapter 1

" _You were born to lead this team. Maybe not now. But soon."_

Moonlight streamed in through a crack in the blinds of a hotel room window, gently caressing the face of a sleeping young man. The moon's ministrations were soon interrupted, however, by the sudden blaring of an alarm clock. The man rolled over in his bed, hand flailing desperately to end the raucous noise which pierced his eardrums. After a few seconds of disoriented flopping, the young man finally hit the snooze button, once more sending his room into blessed silence.

The young man sat up, half awake, and recalled his dream. Most specifically, the last thing he heard before he was ripped from his mind.

"Man, how am I supposed to lead a team I'm not even on anymore?" the young man whined, though there was a slight undertone of sorrow to his complaining. Remembering those good old days hurt, even more so when he came back to reality and realized just why those times were long gone.

With a sigh, the man pushed himself to his feet, yawning loudly and scratching his chest. He went about the room, grabbing clothes and toiletries from various places, then walked into the bathroom to begin his daily routine.

About a half hour later, the man emerged from the white-tiled bathroom, along with a billowing cloud of steam. He wore a simple white t-shirt and a pair of slim-fitting black sweatpants. A towel lay on his shoulder, protecting his shirt from the water dripping off his still-wet hair. He breathed in the colder air outside the steam-filled room, and heaved a sigh of relief.

The man walked towards his bed, dropping to his knees on the carpeted floor and reaching under the frame. He pulled out a duffel bag, which contained pieces of black and gray armor. It took him a few minutes to suit up, buckling and clasping and clicking things into place. Afterwards, the man simply stood there for a moment, flexing this way and that to get a true feel for the new costume. Satisfied that the material wouldn't inhibit anything other than outside threats, he pasted a white-lensed domino mask to his eyes, then pulled a helmet on over his slightly damp hair.

Poking the center on his metal belt buckle, which sunk in slightly at the touch, the suit whirred to life, lights flashing. Tapping his gray right gauntlet, the man was satisfied with the holographic screen which popped up, performing a few test procedures to ensure everything was running correctly. Finally, he spoke out loud, his voice much deeper, and noticeably metallic, due to the voice-changer in his helmet. No such thing as _too_ prepared, after all. Said helmet also hid the wide grin, which threatened to split the young man's face right in half, behind an intimidating white skull.

"Red X is ready for patrol."


	2. Chapter 2

"Okay, this is _not_ part of the plan!" Red X shouted, leaping out of the way of a boulder-sized piece of road. He glanced backwards for a moment, noting that the chunk of asphalt had landed on a car, completely flattening it. Fortunately, it was one of the ones parked on the side of the streets, meaning nobody had gotten hurt.

Turning back to the matter at hand, Red X narrowed his eyes- not that anybody could see it- at the orange girl who was throwing small mountains. She wore metal-plated gray armor, with a black top and skirt. There was a metal apparatus on her head as well, which framed her face, but didn't seem to provide any real protection. She was likely an alien, since her arrival was accompanied by the crashing of a spaceship, and the metal bracers which held her forearms together indicated that she was also a prisoner. Unfortunately, with her fingers able to move freely, she was still quite capable of throwing around objects many times her size, cuffs or not.

"Dude, we have a plan!?" a boy shouted to him from somewhere off to the side. It was a green-skinned, purple-clad boy with pointy ears and sharp teeth. Beast Boy, he called himself, which made sense since the kid could turn into just about any animal on Earth. Which he proved a moment later by morphing into a gorilla. Unfortunately for him, he took a stone to the forehead and went down hard, his currently massive weight sending tremors through the road. Shaking his head, the shape-shifter got up, now in human form, before turning into a tiger and rushing back into the fight.

Red X had heard about the kid being on the Doom Patrol in the last few years, and wondered just what the heck the kid was doing such a long way from Midway City, in Michigan. Then again, he wasn't really one to talk...

"Not really, but I suggest we come up with one, and fast!" Another young man shouted. He was much larger than Beast Boy, both in height, which matched Red X's, and width, where he outclassed both other males. He was mostly metal, with dark human skin only showing on the right side of his head and his upper arms. Otherwise, he was a glowing blue and polished metallic color. Cyborg, a fitting, if somewhat uncreative, name for an android, morphed his right arm into a cannon, which fired a blue beam of light at the alien girl, blowing her backwards. She crashed into an apartment building, leaving a hole in the wall. Cyborg's laser cut out, and the girl leapt to her feet. With a shout of rage, the alien leapt forward, using her flight capabilities to accelerate faster, and tackled the large male, who was a bit too slow to get out the way. Red X winced as the teen went flying, crashing into another building.

Beast Boy launched himself at the girl, who heard his roar and spun around, slamming her handcuffs into his feline face. The green tiger was blown away, much like Cyborg, and both seemed to be dazed.

Red X was hesitant to follow his current allies and jump at the alien woman. He very much preferred to _not_ be concussed. Still, he had to do something…

"Hey!" Red X shouted, gaining the attention of the rampaging girl. He head whipped towards him, red hair flaring behind her. She growled, but didn't do much else, as if waiting to see what he was going to do.

Slowly, Red X lifted himself from his crouching position, hands held out in front of him in a placating manner, to show that he was weaponless. Of course, that meant nothing since the X-shaped openings on his palms could shoot some nasty projectiles, but the alien didn't know that.

"I can get those off you," Red X told her, pointing at her handcuffs, then moving his arms apart in a manner to suggest breaking free. The girl's anger seemed to lessen slightly, curiosity taking over. He slowly walked forward, hands in front of him the whole time. It took him a good minute to cover the twenty or so feet between them, but better that than moving too fast and freaking out the alien girl. That could only end poorly.

Once he was close enough, the black-clad hero reached forward, stopping when he had covered half the distance between them. The fiery redhead seemed to understand that he was leaving the choice up to her, and she also extended her bound arms. On the metal surface facing him was a small slit, which Red X had spotted at some point during the battle. Hopefully, the aliens which had captured this girl still used the good old tumbler lock mechanism.

A lockpick poked out from his gloved index finger, and the hero jammed it into the small opening, fumbling around for a few moments. After a few clicks sounded off, the large cuffs released the alien's arms, falling to the ground. She rubbed at her forearms, staring in slight awe at Red X's hand. He tucked away his pick, then took a few steps back. Just in case.

The girl looked up at him, still rubbing at her likely-sore wrists, then opened her mouth. What came out was a language Red X was sure wasn't spoken on Earth. Which made sense, because she _is_ an alien…

"Dude, _what_?" Beast Boy asked, approaching the pair cautiously.

"She's an alien, Beast Boy; of course she's not gonna speak an Earth language," Red X replied, his metallic voice making the retort sound much harsher.

The green teen held his hands up in surrender. "Woah, dude. Sorry I asked…" he muttered, frowning slightly.

That frown quickly morphed into a squeal of panic when the alien grabbed Beast Boy's shoulder, pulling the shapeshifter towards her. Red X was moments away from intervening, when he stopped dead in his tracks, brain momentarily turned to mush.

The alien was _kissing_ Beast Boy. Full, on the mouth, and it looked like she was using tongue, if their slight shifting was any clue.

Beast Boy's eyes threatened to pop out of his skull, his entire body stiff from shock. His arms were still suspended in the air, where they had been when he had attempted to protect himself against Red X's sharp reply moments ago.

After what seems like an eternity, the redhead lets go of the shapeshifter, pushing him away slightly.

"Uh… What?" Cyborg questions from Red X's left. Beast Boy's brain was fried, steam pouring out of his ears, and the black-armored hero knew the kid was in no state to reply. So, Red X simply shrugs at the android, unsure what else to say. He also has no clue what to say, and the two tall teens end up staring at each other in disbelief.

Their staring contest was interrupted by the alien girl, who they had momentarily forgotten about, clearing her throat.

"If you wish to not be destroyed, then you shall leave me _alone_." With that pleasant farewell, the orange-skinned girl took off, flying quickly through the air, away from the scene of their battle.

Cyborg and Red X once more stare at each other in shock, at a loss for what to do next. Beast Boy was still frozen, glazed eyes staring at something a million miles away.

"So, uh… I never got your name," Cyborg said, trying desperately to act nonchalant.

"R- Red X," the skull-masked hero responded, tongue stumbling slightly as he forced the words out. He had seen some weird, fucked-up things during his life, but this incident _definitely_ took a place on his top ten list.

"Right, Red X. So… What now?"

Red X was silent for a moment, turning Cyborg's question over in his mind, wondering the same thing.

"We go after the alien- no telling what kind of damage she can cause now that she can properly use her hands. But first, I think we should help Beast Boy…"

* * *

 **Yes, a new story :P. Raven will show up next chapter. There are some plot twists in the future, so beware… Also, the comment about Red X's height. Since everybody and their mother knows that Red X is Robin is Richard Grayson, I can say that he has the same build as Nightwing from Young Justice season 2 without spoiling anything.**


	3. Chapter 3

It was fairly easy to snap Beast Boy out of his kiss-induced trance; all Cyborg had to do was give the smaller boy a wet willy. One saliva-covered finger in the ear canal later, the three males were running down the streets, in the direction the alien girl was seen leaving in.

"Dude, did you _really_ have to do that?" Beast Boy cried, gesturing to his still-moist ear.

"Yes," Cyborg replied, the grin on his face telling a different story. Beast Boy shook his head, both in exasperation and to clear the remaining spit out of his ear- _gross_.

Red X ran alongside the other two males silently, smiling underneath his mask. These two were pretty funny. He was about to join in, a joke lined up on his tongue, when the sound of an earth-shattering explosion rocked his world. The masked hero instinctively threw an arm in front of him, lowering it a moment later once he realized no debris was flying at him. A glance to the left revealed that Cyborg and Beast Boy were equally startled. The three males exchanged glances, then wordlessly ran towards the source of the explosion.

What they found was both what they were looking for, and something completely unexpected. The orange alien girl from earlier was there, which was good, but she was fighting a bunch of reptilian aliens. Not so good.

Red X immediately jumped into the fight, slinging around X-shuriken and blasting X-shaped weaponry from his palms. Occasionally, he would teleport behind a scaly alien, burying his wrist blades in their backs.

Cyborg and Beast Boy followed, with the android blasting extraterrestrials with his arm cannon, while Beast Boy simply morphed into a T-Rex and stepped on them. The alien girl was putting up quite the fight, as well, tearing through her opponents with these weird green bolts of energy, or punching their lights out with her incredible strength.

The teens fought for a few minutes, taking down dozens of the lizard-like aliens, before they finally noticed that the swarm was beginning to diminish. It seemed that their efforts had borne fruit, and the fight was coming to a close. At least, that was until they noticed the spacecraft hovering in the sky, a laser primed and ready to disintegrate the whole lot of them.

The ship was huge, blocking out the moon. It was made of an orange metal, and shaped like a V, but slightly more rounded. There were spikes protruding along the ship's perimeter, though they didn't seem to serve much purpose other than to make the craft look intimidating. The charged laser hung in the center of the ship, like the solitary eye of a cyclops, glowing maliciously.

Unfortunately, the ragtag group had noticed too late, and were powerless to stop their approaching demise. Red X grabbed Beast Boy, who had momentarily shifted back to his human form, then teleported the two of them fifty feet away; the edge of his range. Turning back, the masked vigilante swore when he saw that the red beam of death of been fired. He wouldn't be able to get back and save the other two. But he could damn well try.

A quick leap through space, and Red X was next to Cyborg. He shot a massive X-shield from his palm, severely draining his power reserves, leaving just barely enough for him to grab the redhead and drag her over. Once there, human and alien hunkered down. Cyborg did likewise, huddling behind one of the legs of the giant letter.

The three waited, and waited some more, until Red X got impatient and peeked out from behind his red shield. What he saw was quite astounding. A black, slightly transparent wall was holding back the laser, though some of the energy was deflected and struck nearby buildings. FInally, the ship stopped firing, and the same black energy morphed into a claw, flying up and tearing the gun off the spacecraft.

That threat dealt with, the redheaded alien flew out from behind cover, resuming the fight. Red X and Cyborg followed, with Beast Boy sprinting in as a cheetah. The remaining twenty or so green aliens went down easily, too shocked by the previous display to put up much of a fight. Not that they had really been doing so in the first place.

In another few minutes, the fight concluded, and the winded heroes, plus the alien girl, stood in the middle of the carnage. Wrecked cars littered broken streets, and crumbling buildings cast ominous shadows on the four. Rex X winced; fights between superpowered beings never ended well for the little guys.

"So, uh… Good job?" Beast Boy said, trying to cut through the tension which fell upon the quiet battlefield. Cyborg, recognizing the attempt for what it was, smiled weakly.

"Yeah. Not so bad for an alien, a robot, a masked dude, and a booger."

"Don't forget our resident sorceress," Red X chimed in. The others looked at him, confused, then glanced in the direction he was staring. Their eyes landed on a person wearing a hooded blue cloak, which covered their face and body. The only thing the teens could see was the figure's ashen-gray mouth, and their glowing purple eyes.

"That _was_ you, right?" Red X asked, though he was confident he was right.

"...In a way. How'd you know?" the figure asked, their voice identifying them as female.

"Lucky guess."

The young woman was silent for a moment, before deciding it didn't really matter. "Whatever. So, what's going on here, anyways?"

"That's a good question. Care to explain, Miss Alien?" Red X asked, turning to face the redhead. He crossed his arms absentmindedly, though the gesture was interpreted as an attempt at intimidation by the alien.

"You all were the ones that decided to get involved with matters that had nothing to do with you!" she yelled acidicly, startling the group. Her hands lit up with green energy, and everyone took a big step back.

"Woah!" Red X cried, his metallic voice echoing through the empty streets, "Relax! It was just a question!"

She stared at him, hands sizzling, before she stood straight. "If you must know, I was taken prisoner by the Gordanians, to be given to their ruler as a... _Prize_." She struggled to force the words out, ashamed that she had been in such a situation.

"Well, all that matters is that you're free, right?" Red X said, trying to take her mind off the negativity.

She stared at him for a long while. "Yes, I suppose it is… Nice." She seemed unfamiliar with the term, yet still used it. Red X filed that away for later.

The teens stood in a disfigured circle- except for the sorceress, who was keeping her distance- and simply stared at each other. Gauging reactions, unsure what to say, nervous, X didn't know. Thankfully, Cyborg seemed to be pretty good at defusing tense situations.

"Well, I don't know about y'all, but fighting aliens makes me hungry. Hows about we stop at a pizza place, grab a bite to eat, and get to know each other a little bit?"

Beast Boy grabbed onto the offer like a lifeline, enthusiastically shouting his agreement. Unfortunately, the others were a bit more… Reserved.

"I'm good," the cloaked girl said. Her tone indicated that she was going to leave at any moment, but thankfully she seemed to have other plans.

"What is this… Pizza?" the alien girl asked, a finger on her lip in curiosity.

"It's _only_ one of the best foods on Earth!" Cyborg boomed. "Come on, girl, you _definitely_ gotta try some. It'll blow your mind!"

The now-concerned alien backed up, raising her hands to defend herself. "Why would I wish to _blow my mind_?" she snarled, glaring at Cyborg.

"It's just a saying here. It means that something's going to amaze you," Red X said, saving the frightened android, who flashed him a quick thumbs-up.

She lowered her glowing hands, becoming docile in an instant. "Oh~. Why did you not say so? I will gladly partake in this _pizza_."

Taken aback by the mood swing, but quick to recover, Cyborg turned to Red X. "So? How about it?"

X crossed his arms, helmeted head tilted to the side. After a moment of thought, he turned to the cloaked sorceress. "I'll go, though I'd prefer if the entire team were there." Her head snapped to him, purple eyes boring holes into him, but he didn't flinch.

Beast Boy perked up at the word. "We're a team?" he asked, looking up to the black-armored hero with awe in his green eyes. Red X tilted his head to the other side.

"Well, not exactly. But even if we're all going solo, it'd be nice to know we can still count on help if we ever need it."

"Like the Justice League, right? That's basically what we did today, comin' together to fight alien baddies and totally kickin' butt! Then we go off on our separate ways into the sunset! We even have our own alien!" he cried, pointing at the orange-skinned girl. She didn't seem to take offense to how he referred to her, too caught up in the references to things she had no clue about. It would take a bit of work to get her acquainted with this world. Luckily, Red X had a bit of experience with that sort of thing.

"Sort of," he said in response to Beast Boy. "On a much smaller scale, of course, but the concept's the same."

"Dude, that's so _cool!_ So do we get our own epic name? Like- like the… The, uh… Young Justice League?" Beast Boy finished lamely, scratching the back of his head with an awkward smile.

Red X twitched imperceptibly. "No. Nothing like that, otherwise the actual Justice League might come and investigate the people who're using their name. If they don't like how we do things, they might try to force us to stop."

"What!?" Beast Boy cried in shock. "No way! They're _heroes_ , dude! They don't do evil stuff like that!"

X grimaced under his mask, shoulders tensing up slightly. "Take it from me, kid; the Justice League isn't as perfect as it seems."

Fiddling with his right gauntlet, he pressed a few buttons, calling his vehicle to him. Things had taken a turn for the awkward, and he didn't want to be in this kind of atmosphere. He knew he had lost a lot of respect from the starry-eyed shapeshifter by insulting his idols, but after some of the things he'd seen…

His musings were interrupted by the roar of an engine travelling down the street. Turning his head, X stared at the familiar sight of his unmanned X-Cycle racing towards him at highway speeds. The other teen heroes backed up slightly, ready to attack, but were shocked when the bike stopped in front of the masked hero. He swung a leg over it, settling into the seat as if he was born there.

"Well, I see you kiddies later."

With a two-fingered salute, Red X revved the engine, spun the motorcycle around, and took off down the street, leaving behind a group of confused super-powered teens.

* * *

 **This story has not gotten a lot of love from me. Then again, a lot of my stories don't… Maybe I should do something about that. Not now, of course, but eventually. Like, in a few years…**

 **K bai :D**


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